SURJ Bay Area joins 500+ congregations and communities in pledge to become “Apartheid-Free”

Today, March 21st 2025, SURJ Bay Area joins with communities all over the world to mark an important milestone: over 500 congregations and organizations have taken a pledge declaring themselves “apartheid-free.” Pledge signers commit to cut ties with Israel’s apartheid regime against Palestinians and to oppose all forms of racism, bigotry, discrimination, and oppression. These 500+ groups represent hundreds of thousands of constituents and include congregations, faith communities, solidarity organizations, non-profits, student organizations, veterans’ groups, businesses, and even municipalities. A map and full list of apartheid-free communities can be found here.

“We at SURJ Bay Area took the Apartheid-Free pledge because we stand unequivocally against racism in all its forms—including Israeli apartheid, military occupation, and settler colonialism. By taking the Apartheid-Free Pledge, we reaffirm our commitment to Palestinian freedom, recognizing that the struggle against oppression anywhere is a struggle for collective liberation everywhere.”

For decades, the Palestinian people have faced Israeli occupation and systematic human rights abuses. Apartheid is defined under international law as a legally enforced system of separation and oppression based on race, creed, or ethnicity. Palestinian human rights groups have described Israel’s policies as apartheid for decades. Over the past few years, much of the international human rights community – including B’tselem, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International – have also joined the call for an end to Israeli apartheid.

The Apartheid-Free campaign originated in 2022 when an interdenominational coalition of faith groups in North America, convened by the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), came together to organize the pledge. SURJ Bay Area joined this campaign in 2024.

“The fact that more than 500 congregations, organizations, and businesses have come together to end Israeli apartheid fills me with hope,” said Noor Nabulsi, Apartheid-Free Communications Specialist for AFSC. “These groups represent hundreds of thousands of people from many different places, faiths, and walks of life. What we share is a belief that collectively we are growing the anti-apartheid movement and making it a 21st century issue.”

Each community that signs the pledge commits to resisting apartheid and all forms of racism and discrimination, but this looks different in every community. It can include community education, political advocacy, divestment, protest, organizing ballot measures, or creative projects. For us at SURJ, that has looked like joining local divestment efforts here in the Bay Area, and talking to the public at Oakland Farmers Markets about taking action against Israeli apartheid.

Learn more at https://apartheid-free.org/